We got rain yesterday. It was gentle. The ground had time to take a long slow drink. More is expected today. It was cool and damp outside, so I decided to have a fire in my newly refurbished fireplace. It was a small one, mostly comprised of dead pecan limbs gathered from a neighbor’s yard during a cleanup. The smoke rose straight and true right up the flue. It was gratifying.
My goal now is to collect more wood so that when winter truly arrives, I’ll be ready. We’re heading into the days of darkness, and there’s nothing like a bright fire in the early morning of a cold day to help ward off the chill and prepare for the coming of the sun. Of course, I do have central air and heat. But I enjoy knowing how to stay warm with wool, silk, and fire and fending for myself. Of course, it might be harder to do now that I’ve aged. But maybe old skills are just right for an old man. We’ll just have to see when the cold comes.